Bias cutting machine



,1942. RGARDNER Em 2,291,101.

BIAS CUTTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 13, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR? 8} P. GARDNER ETAL 2,291,707

BIAS CUTTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 13, 1942- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR;

PatentedlAug. 4, 1942 UNITED sfFaTEs PATENT. OFFICE Q arascuifiiii lmcmns Q Percy Gardner,

c n, Bro klyn, N. 36.,

Glen Ridge, N, J and Ralph Kaassignors to Lever Bias- Machi'ne Corporation; New York, N. Y., a corporatiori of New York Application January 13, rstaseriai No. 426,548 2 Claims. (Cl. 164-61) This invention relates to machines for cutting material on the bias and has particular reference to a machine in whichthe tubular material is drawn off a rotatable support over a mandrel in a spiral direction and pulledpoff 'ofandadvanced over the mandrel by a device which simultane- The main object of the invention is to further improve the apparatus especially with respect to the passage of the material from the material support to the mandrel so that a minimum of pull is required to move the material from itssupport on to said mandrel.

prior to the point thereon where the material is cut by the. knife. l

2; A freely rotatable support for the material before it goes on the mandrel in'the form of a platform preferably turned by hand andadapted to receive an open face containersuch as a box or case containing the material nisposed loosely therein in loose. untwistedfolds as it has dropped therein from the sewing machineswhich have.

sewedthe material into tubular form prior to its being passed on; to. the handrel to be cut on the bias"; The. container is disposed preferably at an angle to the horizontal with its open top inclined toward the adjacent end of the mandrel which in the -improvedfor m itself slopes downwardly toward the center of the top of the box.

I Thus, as the, container is rotated, the lower edge Further and more specific objects, features and advantages will more-clearly appear from a consideration of the specification hereinafter when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which form part of the specification and which illustrate a present preferred form which the. invention may assume.

Briefly considered, and in general terms, the invention comprises the following elements:

1. A mandrel provided with a plurality of material-engaging bars some of which are more or less permanently adjustable to define the general tubular diameter of the mandrel and at least one of which is automatically adjusted by gravity action and contact pressure with the material passing over the mandrelto maintain the tubular goods in a steady state of tension as it passes over the mandrel. The nose of the mandrel, as a whole, is sloped gradually downwardly in a line so that its axis is directed toward the center of the adjacent sloping upper face of the material support or container. This necessitates a gradual bending downward of the main shaft of the mandrel as well as of the top plate thereof. An end piece of solid casting or plug is provided to act as an anchor for the ends of the top plate, the fixed mandrel bars, the center shaft and also for a material guiding element which depends from it to guide and restrain the lower portion of the tubular material as it is introduced on to the mandrel. The effect of this improved construction is to introduce the material to the mandrel with even less resistance and friction and in a very smooth gradual curve from the loose folds of the material in the container on the support to the main portion of the mandrel just of the top is always slightlybelow the line of travel of the material as it-is pulled out of the box on to the mandrel.

With the features above generally set forth, it is found that the goods can be wound up faster and with a wound edge which practically eliminates shaving ofthe ends. Furthermore, it" will be obvious that when the material cnfthe rotatable supportis in rolled up condition and has to be pulled off a heavy'roll onto the mandrel, there is a decided limit" to the size of roll which can thus be handled, whereas when the material drops from the sewing machine loosely into a box or container which is then'placed on they rotary platform to be associated with the'machine, the material can then be pulled out of the box without practically any effort or strain onthe ma terial and therefore the length of material which can thus be handled is only limited by the capacity of the box orcontainer. It has been found that much greater lengths of material can be handled in this way with even less'effortor strain on the pullingmechanism.

The present preferred form which the invention may assume is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, of which-- I Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of the mandrel adjacent the material support, as well as of the material container and support;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical section through the mandrel; and

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken on the line li -'3 of Fig. 2. I In the drawings the present preferred form which the invention may assume includes a mandrel shaft ll extending horizontally'along almost the whole length of the mandrel, Thisshaft supports a plurality of spider plates of which on is shown at [2. On the periphery of these plates are disposed a plurality of longitudinally extending bars such as. l3 mounted to form the outline of a mandrel over which material is to be advanced. Some of these bars are more or less permanently adjustable to desired positions by means of being supported on arms l4 which slide in the spider frames I2 and are adjusted by means of set screws l5. One of these mandrel arms, preferably the lowermost one, is supported from the arms l4 by means of a pivot arm IG counterbalanced by a gravity operated counterweight which tends to keep the bar in its lowermost or outermost position at all times. This will cause a steady even pressure on the material which is spirally passing over the mandrel and therefore will exert a constant tension on it and tends to keep it passing over the mandrel in a perfectly even state of tension and practically constant diameter; Along the top of the mandrel there is disposed a top plate l3 which is of considerable width as shown. At its outer end this plate, as well as the outer ends of the bars I3, are bent inwardly toward each other and all except the bottom bar l3 are fastened to each other by an end plug or casting or plate I 9. This plug I9 is fastened at the end of the shaft II which along its end portion is bent gradually downwardly, as shown, so that the end portion of the mandrel is well below the major portion of it. Dependent from the lower portion of the casting I9 is a guard element preferably in the form of a U-shaped spring or wire 20. This guard element is preferably rigidly mounted on the casting but any suitable means (not shown) may be provided whereby it can be adjusted to depend more or less below the plug l9. As shown, this element acts as a guard to guide the lower portion of the tube of material as it passes on to the mandrel and prevents it from getting caught by the turned up end of the lower rod I3.

The material before it passes on to the man- .drel is preferably disposed in a loosely folded condition, as shown in Fig. l, in a box or casing '32 mounted on a rotatable plate or support 33,

on a shaft 34 joumaled on bracket 35 fastened to an inclined frame beam -36 and fastened at one end to the floor and at the other end adjustably to an upright pedestal member 31.

A hand wheel 42 operates a rotatable shaft 43 journaled in bracket plates 44 and 35 and having a bevel gear 45 meshing with a bevel gear 46 on the lower end-'of the shaft 34.

Turning now to a general description of the operation of the apparatus, we note that the material is taken in flat form. and sewed into a tubular piece which is common in the trade but the material whenthus formed is then allowed to drop naturally into a box or container such as at 32 so that it assumes, without any outside help, a natural folded loose position in the box. This is particularly true since preferably the inclination of the platform on which the box is rotatably disposed is such as to present the open upper'face of the box inclined toward the adjacent end of the mandrel which curves downwardly, as shown, in a smooth gradual manner so that the end of it is quite some lower than the main portion of it and the end of the mandrel is pointing substantially at the center of the upper open face of the box 32.

The box is presented with the lower edge of the upper face below the line of travel of the goods from the box on to the mandrel whereby substantially no resistance is offered by the box edge to slfizh movement of the goods. The material is led by hand on to the mandrel in opened condition so that the tube surrounds the mandrel bars 13 and is held in proper tension by the automatic expansibility of the, lower bar l3 previously described.

The material'is pulled out of the box 32 and spirally over the mandrel and is cut on the bias by the knife 29. The movement of the material out of the box and under the knife and over the mandrel in to a wound-up roll is effected by the wind-up and pull-off means clearly shown and described in the above-mentioned patent,

The lower guard element 20 aids in keeping the tube opened as it laves the box and keeps it from getting caught in the end of the lower bar l3. This mandrel then with the downwardly inclined or sloping end portion adjacent the sloped upper face of the box 32 does facilitate the smooth even and effortless passage of the material on to the mandrel with practically no resistance. By this mea s the tension in the material is practically uni mm and enables the material to be cut with an en edge and wound up in a roll with a practically smooth even edge so that shaving of the edges is avoided and large quantities of material thus saved.

While the invention has been described in detail and with regard to a present preferred form which the invention may assume, it is not to be limited to such details and forms since many changes and modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention 'in its broadest aspects. Hence it is desired to cover any and allforms and modifications of the invention which may come within the language or scope of any one or more of the appended claims.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a bias cutting machine, a mandrel to receive tubular material, one end of the mandrel being bent downwardly in a smooth curve with the end ofthe mandrel substantially below the line of the axis of the main portion thereof and a material guiding element on the end of the mandrel and extending at right angles to the axis thereof and disposed in front of the mandrel to guide the material smoothly and evenly thereon.

2. In a bias cutting machine, a mandrel to receive tubular material, said mandrel having material engaging bars, one of which is automatically acted upon by gravity to engage the material with a regulated tension, one end of the mandrel being bent downwardly in a smooth curve with the end of the mandrel substantially below the line of -the axis of the main portion thereof, and a material guiding element on the end of the mandrel and extending at right angles to the axis thereof and disposed in front of the gravityoperated bar.

PERCY GARDNER. RALPH KAGAN. 

